Weight Loss Coach: Beyond Diet and Exercise

Being a Weight Loss Coach is a significant portion of my Health Coach roles.

Statistically, 24.1 percent of adults in Canada and 34.4 percent in the United States are obese. If we also include those who are overweight in addition to being obese, the statistics move closer to the 57 percent range.

World obesity statistics are following very similar trends.

Then there is also the issue of childhood obesity. Canadian statistics indicate that approximately 26 percent of children aged 2-17 are currently overweight or obese. That number has tripled in the last 25 years alone.

And if this trend continues, it is estimated that in 20 years, we can expect 70 percent of the 35-44 year olds in Canada to be overweight or obese.

Incredible.

Scary, in fact.

It is not surprising then that many of my coaching clients are requiring the specific assistance and expertise of a weight loss coach.

The big question is why does this trend still exist and why does it appear to be worsening. With all the many weight loss coach programs out there, with all the education and training and promotion to eat well and be fit, what is wrong?

Why do typical weight loss coach programs fail?

Because they are only looking at 1 or at best 2 components to weight loss, when in actuality there are 3 areas that need to be simultaneously addressed. And until they are all addressed as a whole, the weight loss results will be marginal at best.

The whole in any weight loss coach program that needs to be addressed is the following:

Diet and Biochemical Life Stresses: eating nutritionally healthy and balanced meals for your own unique metabolism, as well as detoxifying the body of biochemical stresses.

For the most part, there are weight loss programs that deal with either diet or exercise, sometimes both, but never the mental component to weight loss.

Popular name brand programs like Weight Watchers, Ginny Craig and Herbal deal primarily with the Diet aspect. Other programs set up by various gyms and health clubs deal primarily with exercise.

I'm not saying anything negative about these programs. They work well within the limits they have, but if the goal is for sustainable weight loss, health and vitality, they will not succeed.

And even if they succeed in helping you drop the weight, report after report indicates that 80-90 percent of individuals who lost weight will gain it all back, plus more within 1-2 years.

Until we learn to address all three levels of weight gain, through a properly constructed weight loss coach program such as the one I, myself, and many holistic doctors offer, we will fail to reverse our obesity trends.

The Issue of Genetics in Weight Loss

As a weight loss coach, I feel the importance of examining the topic of genetics for completeness.

I do believe that genes may play a role in a small percentage of people. There is certainly growing scientific support for such a conclusion. However, for the most part, it is my opinion that blaming your weight issues on genetics is a cop out!

I personally do not believe we can attribute this dramatic trend in obesity solely to genetics.

Simply, obesity issues never existed 100 years ago, and scientifically speaking there no evidence to support the fact that the human race has evolved significantly enough to support this hypothesis.

What does a typical Weight Loss Coach Session Look Like?

As a weight loss coach, we will begin by discussing your health history and anything relevant you would like to share with me.

I will also ask you to make a list of your goals in all dimensions of life: physical, bio-chemical and emotional. And depending on your unique desires, we will create a program specific to assisting you in your journey.

The topics that we cover during a weight loss coach program are:

Choosing a yoga program that will help shift your metabolism. For more information you can take a sneak peek at the weight loss with Kundalini Yoga, as well as the weight loss and yoga page.

Exploring nutrition for life concepts like organic raw food, common food allergies that can keep weight on, and acid base balance.

I really love this work, as I do all my work, but the coaching in particular has a sweet spot in my heart. Watching someone turn their life around for sustainable change that not only affect them, but everyone around them. It is extremely rewarding.

So if you have been struggling with weight loss and feel that a weight loss coach would be of value to getting you on the right track, I'd love to hear from you.

Yours in Wellness,

Dr. Lisa

And for more information, read the other articles below:

Healthy Diet Tips: My biggest tip for a healthy diet is to go on a Non-Diet! By this I mean, eat healthy with appropriate serving sizes and plenty of light snacks, but stop being so critical of food. Give up the calorie counting and learn to respect food as the live giving nourishment that it represents. Find out more here...

Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners: Artificial Sweeteners of all varieties are extremely toxic. Regardless of whether you are overweight, diabetic or simply 'calorie-conscious', I urge you to learn more before consuming another drop of these 'sugar substitutes'.

Water and Weight Loss: Water and appropriate hydration levels are essential for proper weight loss. Water is the carrier fluid for eliminating toxins in your body, and much of weight gain exists simply because we have not detoxified. Learn more here.

Stress and Weight Gain: Cortisol is a hormone that the body produces during stress and it promotes weight gain; so it boils down to simple mathematics: Stress + Cortisol = Weight Gain. Find out how to balance cortisol levels and re-boot your adrenal glands if life has been stressful for a while!

Gluten Free Diet for Weight Loss: With an estimated 90 million North Americans having an un-diagnosed gluten intolerance, it is time to consider this gluten free diet for weight loss.

Effects of Obesity: The effects of obesity are vast: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and decreased life expectancy to name a few. In fact billions of health care dollars are being spent to 'fix' the effects of obesity; a disease that could easily be prevented. We will eventually run out of money trying to fight this rampant disease. But we do have the option to choose differently, will you?

Stress in Eating: What happens when you eat in an unaware, non-present and simply stressed out state? Not only are you contributing to the emotional eating blunder, but even if you are eating healthy foods, are they getting absorbed and assimilated appropriately? Find out more here.

Increase your Metabolism: If you have been stressed, or inactive for years, your metabolism is certainly sluggish...time to re-boot it to help with your weight loss. Find out more here.

Weight Loss and Yoga: Yoga is amazingly adept at helping you loose weight...have you ever looked at the typical crowd that yoga attracts; healthy, fit and eco-conscious individuals. Learn more about how yoga can help you connect with your body and lose the weight you want.

Weight Loss with Kundalini Yoga: Kundalini Yoga has a number of specifically designed sets to help with weight loss. Rather than picking from a smorgasbord of poses, they have already been designed for us by ancient yogis and sages that really understand the energy and healing of the body. Learn more about the art of weight loss with Kundalini Yoga here...

Full Body Detox: Detoxification is one of the biggest items that is lacking from the weight loss industry. Perhaps because there is a lack of qualified individuals to assist and appropriately recommend detox programs. Find out some safe full body detox tips here.

Raw Food for Weight Loss: Eating at least 50 percent Raw is the best way to nourish your body and allow your body to absorb and assimilate the nutrients, vitamins and minerals of your food. It also less processed and therefore, more bio-available, with less chemical additives and harmful toxins - a real bonus all round when working on weight loss.